More Than One Side
by Winter Lover in the Snow
Summary: Many things has happened after the Winter War. Including the unraveling of a power unknown to even the wielder. Until now. Rated M for possible gore.
1. Chapter 1

Meh, first storyOoO hope I dont do too too bad!

Waring! This is after the Winter War, so it might have a few spoilers (although some parts are made up, since I really only know what I do from AMVs and a few friends:/)

(wow, pretty short:p)

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

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><p>A young boy swiftly walked into his office and closed the door quickly but silently. Toshiro Hitsugaya sighed as he remembered what had just happened a few moments ago.<p>

_*Flaskback*_

_It was over. The winter War has finally ended._

_It brought some good with it. Gin was fortunately able to be saved from the harsh blow dealt to him by Aizen, and, after much pleading from Rangiku Matsumoto, his childhood friend and lover, was saved from execution for his actions towards Seireitei. But he wasn't given back his title as captain to the Third Division, and instead put into the third seat position._

_Also, the Espada were all eliminated, except for Grimmjow, who had survived the blow Nnoitora gave him, Tia, who had also escaped death, and Stark who, along with Lilynette and the other remaining Espada, now only roam the deserts of Huecho Mundo, after making a deal with the shinigami that if they would not invade the Soul Society or the World of the Living, the shinigami would not attack them._

_But alas, as expected, the war also brought much pain to many people. Tousen Kaname* was killed by his long time friend, Sajin Komamura, and his faithful lieutenant, Shuhei Hisagi. They had no choice whether to save him or not; he was far too gone for them to help. But in his moment of death, he finally came to his senses and, with his dying breath, thanked the two for doing what they did. "I wouldn't... want to hurt anymore people who believed in me...would I?" he said._

_However, though many has suffered during it, the one who has had the most pain thrown to them during the war was Momo Hinamori. During the time, she had went to the battlefield, but not to fight. She had came to try and convince the shinigami that Aizen was good. But instead, while defending herself against an Arrancar, she was able to see that, while facing off Ichigo Kurosaki, the substitute shinigami/visored with as much power as a captain, Aizen was stabbed from behind through his heart by a Bankai infused Toshiro Histugaya, Momo's best and childhood friend. It was, as far as Momo could tell, a planned attack, as before Toshiro's blade went through, Ichigo lept back to avoid the sword. Toshiro, with his sword deeply in Aizen's chest, thrusted it upwards and, to Momo's horror, sliced through Aizen head, splitting it in half, with his blood spraying in many directions. Kisuke, who was there to help the shinigami in the war, then shunpoed to Aizen and shoved his hand into the area where he knew the Hogyoku, which was the reason as to why Aizen was so powerful, was, and pulled it out so it could not regenerate him again._

_She screamed. She screamed for her broken heart at seeing the horrible given to her captain. The thoughts of "How could he? Why? Why would he do this to him. To **me**? He knew how much Aizen Taicho meant to me. Aizen Taicho was innocent! It was all just a trick by Inchimaru! Why couldn't they all see that?" and so many alike them ran through her mind as anger and hatred towards the one who took her captain._

_Whichi lead Toshiro to the situation he was in._

_He dodged the vase that was thrown at him by Momo, and the glass broke into many pieces onto the floor behind him due to the force of the throw._

_"Momo, please, just listen to me!" Said Toshiro, but she wouldn't listen._

_"No! How could you do that to him? Why would **you **of all people kill Aizen Taicho? He did nothing wrong!"_

_"Nothing wrong?" Toshiro repeated "Momo, he **betrayed **you! He betrayed **everyone**! Can't you see? He was just **using **you!"_

_"**No!**" screamed Momo "No he wasn't! Why can't **you **see that he was forced to do what he did? He would never hurt anyone on his own! He would never hurt **me**! It was all Ichimaru's fault that Aizen Taicho did all of those things! You're letting a dangerous man walk the streets of the Seireitei! **You killed an innocent man!"**_

_**"Momo!**" Toshiro snapped at her "Look at the facts! He betrayed your trust and love, he turned his back on you! And that scar didn't just appear from mid-air! Don't you see? He was using you, using **everyone**, just for his own desires!"_

_"Get out." Momo suddenly whispered._

_"What?"_

_"I said **get. Out!**" she screamed "I want you **out **of my **life**, Hitsugaya **taicho**!"_

_Toshiro would've flinched if the situation wasn't what it was. Momo **never **calls him that, no matter how many time he told her to. But hearing her say it **now**, with her voice filled with venom...it hurt._

_"Momo, please-" But he couldn't finish as Momo continued._

_"**I hate you! **I hate you with all that I have left in me! I never want to see you again! **I want you dead! **I want you to be killed like the way Aizen Taicho was! Do you understand me? Huh? **Do you?**"_

_Toshiro stepped back, pain and saddness filling his entire being. How could she? How could she still have so much love, so much loyalty to someone who has done so much to her? _

_How could she say those things to the one person who was always by her side?_

_Toshiro hung his head low, refusing to look into Momo's hate-filled eyes, and said, "So that's how you want it? To never see me again? I'm sorry Momo, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon."_

_Momo glared at him and said, "And why not? Are you so selfish that you can't do even give me this, when you've already taken so much from me? Why can't you do this? Tell me!"_

_But instead of answering her, Toshiro just turned around and left, leaving an angry, broken Momo behind him._

_*Flashback End*_

_'Damn, that didn't turn out good,' _thought Toshiro. He had hoped that he could help Momo get over Aizen, since he knew how much he had meant to her, only to stab her in the back and toss her away like garbage. But he had not expected things to get so out of control like they did. He never thought that Momo could hold so much anger towards him, towards _anybody _really, but now he did.

And it couldn't hurt more.

Momo Hinamori, his only childhood friend besides Jidanbo Ikkanzaka. The person he grew up with, had so many fun times with. What happened to that? What happened to all of the memories they shared? Chasing each other in the fields, spitting watermelons seeds at on another's faces, watching the sunset together, were they all just useless _trash _compared to Aizen, a man who had shattered her dreams? A man who took her love and loyalty as a mean to hurt her? Was he _really _below _that_?

Apparently so.

'_But I can't think about that right now,' _he thought once more, '_I have much work to do, especially since Matsumoto won't do her share...in fact, where is she? I haven't seen all day."_

And that's when he noticed that Rangiku was in fact _not _on the couch, or behind her desk, though that he would expect, she wasn't _anywhere_.

He just shrugged it off and guessed that she was most likely getting her ass drunk off sake in a bar somewhere, which means that he will most likely have to find. _'Although, Ichimaru has been taking care of that responsiblity for a while,' _he mused, but thought nothing of that either. They _were _also childhood friends and, unlike him and Momo, have no hard feelings over each other ever since Gin had filled everyone in as to why he had betrayed everyone.

So, as he walked around his desk to start the paperwork, he saw something that he found... unexpected.

It was a transfer paper.

And it read _'This form shall give Rangiku Matsumoto, leiutenant of Squad Ten, the Tenth Division Squad captain, Toshiro Hitsugaya's permission to transfer to Squand Three under acting Taicho Izuru Kira as forth seat.'_

Toshiro's hand was trembling. Rangiku wanted to leave the Tenth? But why? Has he done something to upset her? _'This must just be a sick joke,' _Toshiro told himself. Rangiku can't leave him _now_. He would never admit it, but she helped him cheer up whenever he was troubled by anything, and he was in _desperate _need of cheering up. But as he looked on his desk once more, he saw that there was a folded sheet a paper with the words _'To Hitsugaya Taicho'_ in Rangiku's handwriting.

He, knowing full well what suffering one letter can do to someone, slowly picked it up and unfolded it. It read:

_'Dear Taicho,_

_Or should I call you Hitsugaya Taicho now?_

_Anyway, I am writing this to you now because I knew once you read the transfer papers you would start to think that you have done something to me to make me decide to do this _(this caused Toshiro to almost have a smirk on his face. Almost.)_, but I wanted to clear up that this was my decision alone._

_I have loved working under you for all these years, Hitsugaya Taicho. We have become quite close, haven't we? But the reason why I'm transfering is because... I wanted to be around Gin... more than I wanted to be in the Tenth._

_Please don't take this the wrong way, Hitsugaya Taicho. We are still friends, but I've missed Gin...I've been away from him for far too long. I want to be as close to him as I possiby can. I... love him, you could say._

_I hope you can understand my reasons, and let me transfer to the Third. But if you don't, I will understand as well._

_Always friends,_

_Rangiku Matsumoto._

The paper fell from his hands.

"Rangiku... wanted to be with Gin more than me," he said to himself. It _was _understandable. Rangiku has been away from Gin for two whole years, thinking that he had betrayed her. But now that he's back, it's only likely that she would want to be with him. But, knowing that your lieutenant, someone who has been your lieutenant for _many _years, would rather be with someone else, who has raised a blade against her, who broke her heart... it was like a blade through the stomach.

_'But at least he did that to her to protect her, not for greed, like Aizen,' _Toshiro thought. Yes, that was _much_ more bearable info to grasp upon.

So, after much thought out hesitation, Toshiro took the paper and signed where it needed his signature, his approval, of allowing his lieutenant what she wants.

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><p>It has been a few months since he had signed the paper and had seen Momo that day. Rangiku, upon being told by her now "ex" captain that he has approved her transfer, she hopped and squealed with joy, thanked Toshiro, and jumped into the arms of Gin, who was with them to hear the news. They were so happy with each other, that they had missed the look of anguish and pain that had dulled the eyes of the small captain (who has only grown about an inch after the war, much to his dismay).<p>

Life was taking its time to adjust to normal, Toshiro having not found a new lieutenant yet, and also having not fixed the torn relantionship between him and Momo. She still has not forgiven him for killing Aizen and said one thing that was starting to really frighten the captain.

_*Flashback*_

_Once more, Toshiro went to see Momo to see if she had gotten any better. Some whisper behind his back, and some brave enough to come to his face, ask him why he still bothered with her. One even said "She's just a lost cause, she'll never get any better!". He was promptly sent to another room in Squad Four for hypothermia wounds._

_When he made it to Momo's room, he waited a bit before knocking. He usually has to prepare himself before he can actually go into her room. Prepare for the verbal abuse, her anger-filled eyes, and her aura that radiated hatred._

_When he opened the door, he waited for Momo to talk -or yell- at him, but found that she was strangly quiet, and also had her back to him. He asked her, "Hey, Momo, are you alright?"_

_After he said that, she turned around to face him, that look of bitterness still on her face, but also a bit of calm, something Toshiro sees as an improvement. A small one, but an improvement._

_"What are you doing here?" she asked, with only a small trace of that vexed tone in her voice._

_Surprised at her question, he answered, "I came to check on you."_

_A chuckle. A small, miniscule chuckle escaped from her lips into the open. Toshiro managed to hear it, but wishes he didn't. There was nothing to laugh about, as far as he knew._

_"No, I mean why are you here," she asked again, "when you should be looking for a new lieutenant?"_

_It wasn't a surprise to him that she, even though she was stuck in a recovery ever since the Winter War ended due to her mental state, knew that Rangiku had left the Tenth to go to the Third. The healers, other than of course healing the wounded, do not have much to do, so gossip and rumor spreading were going to happen, and Momo was going to hear at least one -that one just happening to be this._

_What **did **surprise him was the fact that she would go that **low **to cause him some sort of discomfort. She knew how close he and Rangiku were. She knew that they were like brother and sister. And she **knew **how **hard **it would be for hm to just replace her._

_"Oh wait, don't tell me!" she suddenly exclaimed, breaking Toshiro out of his thoughts "You're taking your sweet time finding someone who could be your **friend**, right? Someone who can **be **there for you? Well, guess what? You will **never **find **anyone **to be anything **close **to your friend! And do you know why? Because you're a monster. You're a heartless, merciless, block of _**_ice_**_! And you're pathetically weak. What kind of captain can't even get over their emotions and see the truth? Face it, Hitsugaya Taicho, any friend you'll be able to find will either realize the monster you are like I did, or they'll just walk away with someone else like Rangiku!"_

_Toshiro was shaking with nearly uncontrolled rage. "Yeah," he started "you would know, huh?" and then walked away, leaving behind a wide-eyed Momo._

_*Flashback End*_

_'I guess I'll always just walk away from you, huh Momo?' _he asked himself after going in to his private quaters.

He will most likely never forget what Momo had told him, but two specific parts from Momo's rant kept replaying in his mind.

_"You're pathetically weak. What kind of captain can't even get over their emotions and see the truth?"_

_"Any friend you'll be able to find will either realize the monster you are like I did, or they'll just walk away with someone else like Rangiku!"_

_'Is she right?' _he thought _'Am I really weak? And I still have Rangiku! She's still my friend...right?"_

_**"Of course master,"** _Hyorinmaru, the mighty ice zanpactou, said to him mentally.

_'But what if she's right?' _Toshiro asked Hyorinmaru, _'What if Rangiku really did just leave? What if she did leave me... just to hurt me?'_

_**"Master!"**_Hyorinmaru roared, causing Toshiro to flinch at the loud noise _**"Hinamori is still confused, and is not in her right mind! She is still under the spell that Aizen put her under! You can not fall for what she says to you, for they are only to hurt you!"**_

_'But Hyorinmaru!' _Toshiro mentally yelled to the dragon, _'What she says is true! They left me...everyone is... everyone is leaving me...'_

**_"Master," _**he giant spirit said sadly and watched as his master, in the privacy of his own quaters, broke down, no shields up to hide the tears falling down the young boy's cheeks. The dragon pulled the boy's mind into their inner world, and wrapped his wings around the small figure.

But, while Toshiro may not have heard it due to his crying, Hyorinmaru, with his sharp ears, heard the sound of ice cracking, then shattering into pieces far into the distance in the icy plain. He knew what this meant.

To himself only, Hyorinmaru thought, _**'So your seals have broken at last, Yuki no Neko Ryuu, No Arashi no Doragon? Your timings could not be better."**_

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><p>Damn, couldnt hit the 4,000 mark: oh well, at least i got over 3,000(not including author notes!) :D

hmm, seems like a lot is going on! and Hyorinmaru knows something Toshiro doesnt? wonder hat it could be...

*First of all, I gave NO idea whether the name is Kaname Tousen, or Tousen Kaname:/ second, i havent actually watched that fight, so i made up my own ending for it (i dont watch the subbed version. not that i dont like it, just that my computer is VEEERY slow, and they talk faster than the little subtitles can come up!)

I shall translate those last two names next chapter! if i give them away now it might spoil many thins! sorry!

~Winter Lover in the Snow~


	2. Chapter 2

wow, an update already! well yeah, i sorta NEED to update fast or else all of my ideas will go down the eternal abyss that is my mind:/

I wanna thank dragonnick711, sain-kookie (i like your penname^^ and sorry again for that PM!), and... whats-your-face (you didnt put nothing, so i hope you dont mind too much about me calling you this for now:P) for revewing. your kind words keep me going:D

i cant really do it in this chapter, but ill try to incoperate putting everyone rank in ths story, but for now, here's Rukia's

Rukia= Lt. of Squad 13

hope this helps:3

Talking  
><em>'Thinking'<br>"Reports"  
>Flashback<br>**"Zanpactou talking"  
>'Zanpactou thinking'<strong>_

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach

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><p><em>*Previously on More Than One Side*<em>

_'But Hyorinmaru!' _Toshiro mentally yelled to the dragon, _'What she says is true! They left me...everyone is... everyone is leaving me...'_

**_"Master," _**he giant spirit said sadly and watched as his master, in the privacy of his own quaters, broke down, no shields up to hide the tears falling down the young boy's cheeks. The dragon pulled the boy's mind into their inner world, and wrapped his wings around the small figure.

But, while Toshiro may not have heard it due to his crying, Hyorinmaru, with his sharp ears, heard the sound of ice cracking, then shattering into pieces far into the distance in the icy plain. He knew what this meant.

To himself only, Hyorinmaru thought, _**'So your seals have broken at last, Yuki no Neko Ryuu, No Arashi no Doragon? Your timings could not be better."**_

_Present Time~_

After letting his emotions cascade down his face for a few peaceful moments, Toshiro left his inner world and made it to his office. He can't waste his time crying over a few words a mentally unstable patient said. He has work to get down and a squad to train. He was about to get started on the paperwork when a Hell Butterfly flew into the room and went towards him. He put his index finger out so that it had a place to land. As it did, the small insect reported the message it had to give.

_"Captain Hitsugaya, a group of Menos classed hollows have been reported to have been seen in the eleventh district of West Rukongai. You are to go there and eliminate them. You may bring a total of five shinigami with you to assist you." _

After it flew away, its mission completed, Toshiro sighed and got up from his desk. _'Menos, huh?' _Even though they had won the war, that did not mean that their weren't any more hollows to deal with, powerful or not. Usually Toshiro would detest fighting hollows, not being very fond of fighting period. But this was an exception. It would allow him a chance to forget what was happening between him and Momo, and his growing suspision of Rangiku's reason of leaving.

When Toshiro finished picking his group of shinigami, which were his brown haire, blue eyed third seat, Daisuke Jun, his orange haired, green eyed forth seat, Akane Asuka, and asked Ikakku, Yumichika, and Rukia to come along, to which they all said yes to, they all set of to the destination at hand.

When they all made it, they saw that there were at the most six hollows at the site, one seeming to almost be an Adjuchas. The higher-ranked hollow seemed like something of a wolf, with fur-like bone covering its body, and having four strong legs ending with razor sharp claws. When it opened its mouth to howl in victory of its meal it got before the shinigami came, its was revealed to be filled with jagged teeth. And finally ending at the the two tails of the beast, which were oozing with a greenish-red liquid that, when it touched the ground, burned through it, letting Toshiro assume that it was most likely an acid of some kind and mentally told himself to avoid them.

It seemd to be the one in control of the other ones, as they were not attacking each other and rather the unforturnate souls that were near them, but whether that really was the case, Toshiro could not tell.

_'Damn, how could so many hollows get into Soul Society unnoticed?' _Toshiro thought. _'How did they get past the moniters?'_

"Ha! One for each of us!" exclaimed Ikkaku as he got ready to fight, "Though it ain't like I'll save any for you guys. These are just small fry!"

"You shouldn't underestimate them, Madarame," Toshiro said as he drew his sword out, "it'll get you killed one day."

"Whatever, let's just get started already!" Ikkaku yelled. He jumped to the hollow nearest to him, which resembled that of a worm, the exception being that it had a spiked tail with many barbs attached to it.

_'Might be poisonous,' _thought Toshiro when he saw it. _'That fool better be careful. We afford to lose a shinigami as strong as him.'_ He turned his attention to his two subordinates and said to them, "You two, seperate and attack one hollow at a time. We will be able to defeat them faster that way, but be careful. We don't know how strong these things are. Understood?"

Akane nodded her head once without hesitation and left immediantly, but Daisuke waited, before saying, "But, if we don't know the stregth of our enemies, wouldn't it be better to face them together? For better protection?"

"Yes, while that may be true, we can not risk the chance of one of them escaping us. They're already too close to the Seireitei as it is, we can't and won't allow them to get closer," Toshiro explained. "Do you understand now?"

Daisuke nodded but, as Toshiro saw in his eyes before he shupoed to the hollow, he still doubted his orders.

_'Danm it, why must he question my way of thinking?'_ thought Toshiro as he lept towards the Adujuchas, sword drawn and above him.

**_"Yeah! Your his captain, so why doesn't he trust__ you?"_ **a voice suddenly said in his head. It almost made Toshiro go off balance, but he managed to recover just before he brought his blade down to the canine-shaped hollow, which it dodged and charged towards him. That voice did _not _belong to Hyorinmaru, for it sounded far too young and feminine for it to be his.

_'Whatever that was, I can't deal with it right at this moment,__' _Toshiro said in his mind as he jumped to the left to avoid the in-coming hollow.

Toshiro put his free hand out and yelled, "Hado #31, Shakkaho!" as he landed on the ground. The red ball of fire formed in his hand and quickly shot out at the hollow. The hollow, still trying to recover from his charge, wasn't able to doged the kido and was hit on his side. It howled in pain, a high-pitched sound that had Toshiro covering his ears to try to block out the pain in them. Once it stopped, the beast growled and the fur covering its body prickled upwards, before shooting out to Toshiro. He, though still disorientated from the screech the monster gave, managed to shunpo out of the way from most, but one still caught his left sleeve. The section of clothing started to give way before flowing with the wind soon after.

_'So, it's not just the tails I have to worry about, but all of the fur,'_ Toshiro noted as the ring in his ears slowing went away and he was able to stand up straight without swaying. _'I'll have to attack from a distance to be able to stay clear of the poison.' _With that he muttered "Reign over the frosted heavens, Hyorinmaru!"

Dark clouds started to roam over the heads of the fighters in the area as Toshiro zanpactou extended a little and gained a chain with a cresent-moon shaped shickle at the end of it. Not wasting any time, Toshiro swung his sword in an sidewards arc, causing a dragon made of pure ice to pour out from the blade to the direction of the hollow. The beast tried to dogde, but was unable to move fast enough to escape the icy wrath of Hyorinmaru's jaws. The dragon took hold of the wolf-like hollow and went far up into the air. When it was high enough, it went rushing down to the ground at break-neck speed, crashing into it. It shattered into many pieces, taking to hollow with it.

_'There goes that one,' _Toshiro conceived as he saw the beast turn into spirit particles, '_Now to see if anyone needs help.'_ He turned his head-for he was down on one knee after the attack- to see the process of everyone else there. When he and the Adjuchas was facing off each other, they were fighting in the middle of the area he and the others were, so he managed to get a good view on the battles surrounding him.

To his left, he saw that Ikkaku seemed to have an easy -and fun, by the look Toshiro saw on his face- time the the brown worm like hollow he was fighting, close to defeating it. It, in fact, took one more blow from the bald man's side to eliminate the hollow.

On his right, he was able to see that Yumichika was facing a red orange hollow that seemed to be a cross between a spider and some typ of bird, for it had the eight legs of the arachind, but bone-covered wings on its back that somewhat resembled that of the flying creature. Its mask had something like a pointed beak sticking out of it, and a large bottom with sharp needles lached on it. Though he had taken many hits, the beauty obsessed man managed to defeat the strange looking hollow with one last slash of his sword.

As he looked behind him, he took notice that Rukia was apparently taking quite a beating from the hollow she was fighting, but was otherwise okay. She was facing a hollow that was similar to the one that Toshiro had faced in the human world when he met Ichigo's little sister, Karin. Though she had what appeared to Toshiro as a cut somewhere along her hairline -for the parts of her face Toshiro could see were covered in blood- Rukia was able to yell "Some no Mai, Tsuki Shiro!" and aim the white circle of ice directly underneath the hollow's feet. Afterwards, a pillar of ice shot forwards to the sky, and, after a few seconds, cracked and shattered, taking the hollow's life while doing so. When that was done, she kneeled and put her hand to her forehead and started doing basic healing kido to the wound there.

When he turned his head to look in front of him, he witnessed Akane being thrown to the ground as the hollow knocked her down. He also noted that Daisuke was facing the hollow as well, seeing how he had probrably managed to defeat the hollow he was facing before this one earlier than Toshiro had eliminated the Adjuchas. He turned his gaze to the beast the two seated officers were facing now.

The creature was black in color, with two strong looking hind legs and two more legs on its sides, which were ending in scythe-like blades. Many tentacles were pretruding from its back, blueish-purple in color. Its mask was white like many others, shaped like a praying mantis' head.

He looked back at Akane, who was just starting to get back on her feet. When she did, he observed that her left arm was hanging by her side _'It could've broke from that fall she took,' _Toshiro regarded. If that was the case, then she would have to hold and fight with her sword with her right, and that might cause her to fumble while fighting since, if he remembered right, she was left handed. It would be unfamiliar for her than with her usual way of fighting, seeing how Akane would have to pretty much reverse her techinques to get the job done, a difficult task for even the most skilled swordfighter.

He turned his attention to Daisuke, and saw, since the man had his back tunred to him, that he had obtained a rather harsh, bleeding slash mark on his back, that went diagonally from his left shoulder to his right hip. _'It must be a world of pain to even move with a wound like that, let alone fight.' _

He decided that they might need help, so he got up to do so. But, when he stood up straight, he started swaying. _'What?' _His vision was getting blurry, and he was once again on the ground, panting and gasping for air that wasn't coming in enough.

Upon seeing that Toshiro was on the ground and breathing hard, Rukia ran up to him. "Hitsugaya Taicho!" she yelled as she got closer. "Hitsugaya Taicho, what's the matter?"

"Hollow...arm... poison..." the young shinigami chocked out.

Rukia laid Toshiro down as she checked his right arm first. When eyeing no injury on it, she went to the left one. And her violet eyes widened at the sight of it.

It seems that the spike that caught Toshiro sleeve had hit his arm as well, for in the area in which the sleeve was cut, there was a small scratch mark on the skin. The place around the wound was eaten away by the acid, and the rest of his arm, and some of his shoulder, was begining to turn a light purple and blue color. _How did he not feel _this_?'_She was snapped out of her observations when a quiet sound eminated from Toshiro.

"G... o... -elp others," was what was said from him before he began to cough hard.

_'It's blocking off his airways!' _Rukia concluded. She put her left arm around his unaffected shoulder and lifted his top half from the ground. She then put her right hand on his chest to help steady him as they got up.

She turned to Ikkaku. "Ikkaku, go help those two out!" He didn't hesitate to go. Why decline a chance to fight? She then turned to Yumichika, "Yumichika, help me escort Hitsugaya Taicho to the Forth! He needs medical assitance fast!"

The dark violet* haired man nodded and shunpoed to the two smaller officers and carefully helped Toshiro keep balance by grasping onto his other side. "What happened to him?" he asked, "If this arm is anything to go by, then I would say he was poisoned by someting. Am I correct?"

"Yes, you are," she answered, "It appears that the hollow he was facing did in fact have poison somewhere on him."

He nodded, and together they shunpoed the bad-in-health captain towards the Seireitei without further conversation.

Sometime during all of this, Toshiro had passed out, due to the exhaustion that had crashed down upon him.

* * *

><p><strong><em>"Hey,"<em>**a voice said.

Toshiro's eye twiched

**_"Hey!"_** the voice said louder.

He turned to his side.

**_"HEY!" _**the voice shouted.

Toshiro shot up from where he was, which, upon looking around some, was his inner world. But something seemed off about it. The usually nothing but ice plain was coated in white snow. But what was stranger was that it wasn't snowing. The dark-clouded sky was raining hail down onto the icy ground, some of which hit Toshiro, to which he didn't respond to, as he was beholding a most unfamiliar sight.

In front of him was the mighty form of Hyorinmaru, his icy wings spread wide, as if readying himself to fly, but his head was lowered to see the small form of his master. Toshiro was not surprised to see this. He had seen this dragon for many years, since even before he was a shinigami.

What _did _surprise him, however, were the _other _dragons on the left and right of the mighty beast.

To the left of him was a gray, almost white, scaled dragon with a strong body that was almost the same size of Hyorinmaru. The legs of it, along with its darker colored gray underside, had pure white markings, and each ended in fine, sharp claws made of ice. Its wings were the same light gray as its body, and the membrane that held each flad of the fabric-like skin ended in a sharp point. The tail had marking similar to the legs and underside, spiraling towards the tip, wichi also ended with an icy spike. The head of the dragon had large, strong jaws, its eyes were slitted and crimson in color, like Hyorinmaru's. On the top of the head were horns that curved and then came back upwards, like that of a bull's. Next to them were its pointed, laid-backs ears. Running down the back of the head, spine, and tail were a row of spikes made of ice.

To the right of Hyorinmaru was a smaller, but still large, dragoness, that had a long, slender body, but not serpetine like the dragon next to it. It, strangly, did not have showing scales on its body, but rather white fur that seemed to glow with its purity. The legs of it were quite skinny, but still had much defined muscle to them, and each of them ending in pitch black claws, the only things that weren't white on it besides the eyes, which were saphire blue in color, and the pupils were in a sideways slit. It had a long snout with powerful looking jaws. Its head was like that of a cat's- a little triangular in shape, and also had two big, fluffy looking pointed ears, unlike most dragons. Its spike-ending tail flicked back and forth, giving it the look of impatience of something. It was oddly small compared to the other two- almost half their size, though Toshiro was sure it would be much bigger if it stood on its hind legs.

**_"Well," _**the dragoness said, and Toshiro reconised it as the voice that spoke before he first attacked the Adjuchas, **_"it took awhile for you to come here, neh?"_**

"Who are you two?" he said with a tone filled with alert from the two new creatures.

**_"Do not be so tense, Master,"_** Hyorinmaru said calmly, **_"These two are of no threat to you."_**

"What do you mean?" Toshiro asked, curious as to why his acting the way he was.

**_"That is not important right__ now,"_ **the one to the left spoke for the first time. Its voice was loud and resounding, much like Hyorinmaru's.

**_"Yeah," _**the childish voice of the right dragoness said, **_"what's important is that you heal. That poison did alotta damage to ya."_**

"Yes, but I need to know who the hell you two-" and he looked at both of the new beings with a tense glance- "are."

**_"You will know in due time, Master, but right now you must rest. You will need as much energy as you can recieve."_**

Toshiro wanted to argue with that, but felt that his zanpactou was right, so he laid back down and closed his eyes, sleeping in the safety of his inner world.

**_"So, Hyori-chan,"_** the right one said, **_"we _are_ gonna tell him as soon as he recovers, right?"_**

**_"Yes,"_**Hyorinmaru answered, ignoring the nickname given to him, **_"He will have to know if he wants to weild you two."_**

**_"Great! Sleeping for so long's got me wanting to fight some hollows super bad!"_** she exclaimed as she streched herself and, soon after, took off into the icy sky.

**_"She hasn't lost any of her energy, even after so long," _**Hyorinmaru said loud enough for the remaining dragon to hear.

**_"Of course not," _**the dragon said, **_"Yuki no Neko Ryuu could be flying for one thousand miles with no sleep and still have the energy to do one thousand more."_**

**_"I see your sense of humor hasn't gone either, No Arashi no Doragon," _**Hyorinmaru said with a chuckle, **_"And to think I thought you would still be a crabby little lump on a boulder."_**

**_"Shall we join her?"_**No Arashi asked, ignoring the comment on his past personality.

**_"You go," _**Hyorinmaru replied, **_"Someone has to watch and see when Master wakes from his slumber."_**

**_"So be it," _**and with that he was off.

Hyorinmaru watched as the two dragons flew threw the hail filled sky, and thought, **_'This shall be a sight to see__ indeed.'_**

* * *

><p>still no 4,000;n; but hey, this was longer than the first chapter, and to me thats an achievement worth throwing confetti for ','\^v^','

*Is it me, or does Yumichika's hair change from violet to blackO.o

so, we get to know what Yuki no Neko Ryuu and No Arashi no Doragon look like, but what _are _they you ask? well, I pormise to reveal that next chapter! and hopefully that will be soon like this was:D

and sorry if the fight scences wernt good (or scence, since we only REALLY got to see one). those are NOT my forte:/

now for those translations I pormised last time~

Yuki no Neko Ryuu, as you may or may not have guessed means-Cat Dragon of the Snow. i thought of this when my sister read a book that had all the zodiac animals as dragons, except for the cat (stupid rat-.-), so heres my way of guessing what it might look like!

No Arashi no Doragon means-Dragon of the Hail storm. and yes, there IS a space in between Hail and Storm. It's something else ENTIRELY if there's no spaceO.O

Please review! Please? Come on, what did I ever do to you (except give crappy fight scences)?


	3. Chapter 3

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE...IF IT WAS SIX DAYS AGO AND YOU WERE IN AMERICA (cuz I have NO idea if it was Christmas in somewhere like...London, or something like that)! If you weren't in America (or dont celebrate Christmas), then Happy Holidays! I really hope you like this chapter! it might answer a few questions you may or may not have!

I wanna thank everyone who reviewed(Akida Umichi, The Awesome God Apollo, dragonick711, sain-kookie, and whats-your-face-sans!)! thanks for not flaming me:D

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. All property goes to Tite Kubo-sama

* * *

><p>*<em>Previously on More Than One Side*<em>

_Hyorinmaru watched as the two dragons flew threw the hail filled sky, and thought, **_'This shall be a sight to see__ indeed.'_**_

__~Present time, three days later~__

"So you're saying that Hitsugaya-Taicho's arm was in bad shape while the poison was active?" a voice said.

"Yes, Unohana-Taicho. It had the look that it would cause him great pain, but he only seemed to have even notice it after he tried to stand up." another voice reported.

"Hm...thank you very much, Kuchiki-fukutaicho. That's all I needed from you." the first voice, who was confirmed to be Retsu Unohana, Captain of the Forth Division, spoke.

"Hai, Unohana-Taicho," and with that, the retreating footsteps of Rukia Kuchiki, the new Fukutaicho of the Thirtenth, were heard.

Toshiro Hitsugaya heard all of this while still in a drowsy state of mind. He opened his eyes, then closed them again due to the blinding white roof of the room he was in.

_'Wait, roof?'_

Toshiro's eyes flew open as he sprung upwards. He immediantly regretted the action, however, as a pain shot up his left arm. He brought his unhurt arm up to clutch the other.

"There is no need to be so alert, Hitsugaya-Taicho," came the soft of the older woman, "You are safe now."

It was then that the young captain looked around and saw that he was in one of the Forth's recovery rooms. He, at first, wondered why, when soon after that thought the memories of the mission came rushing back to him. _'That's right, I was fighting an Adjuchas, when-' _he then remembered something else.

"What about my subornates? Are they alright?" Toshiro asked as calmly as he could manage. He remembered that they were having a hard time with a hollow before blacking out.

"Yes, they are fine," Unohana answered, "Ikkaku had been able to help discard the hollow before they could get anymore injuries, but the ones they sustained were still to be of need of medical assitance. They are both here in the Forth as well."

_'That's good,'_ Toshiro thought as he breathed a soft sigh of relief.

"Though," Unohana continued, "there is something that I am not quite sure of, and it has something to do with the poison you had in you when the hollow struck at you."

Toshiro nodded his head to show that he understood.

"I have taken the liberty to have a sample of the poison and present it to Kurotsuchi-Taicho for analyzing. But before I go on, there is a question I would like to ask you, if you don't mind."

"What is the question?" the white-haired youth asked.

"When you were poisoned, did you feel it when it was coursing through you?"

Toshiro thought back to the moment when the hollow did its attack. He wasn't even aware that it had hit his arm, let alone knowing it had actually poisoned him.

"No, I did not," he answered.

"That's strange," Unohana stated, "Kurotsuchi-Taicho had said he had injected the poison sample into his own arm, and reported that there was a large amount of pain shortly after. He even amputated it due to the amount of it, and had to make a replacement."

Toshiro's eyes widened with shock after hearing this. If the pain was that bad as to make a _captain_ cut their own _arm _off, then how come he didn't feel anything?

"Though your body is clear of any other health problems, I would like it if you had at least two days of bed rest before going back to work," the words of Unohana snapped Toshiro out of his thoughts as she continued, "And I know that you have much work to do, so I have assigned some of my subornates to do them as you rest."

Toshiro was glad that Unohana had not said that the reason he had so much paperwork was that he didn't have a fukutaicho still. Though Rangiku didn't do _much,_ she did enough so that he wasn't so overwhelmed like his is now.

"Thank you, Unohana."

"There is no need to thank me, Hitsugaya," Restu stated, and for once Toshiro didn't mind that someone did not use his formal title, "Now I think it would be best if you rest now."

Hitsugaya nodded his head one more time before laying back down on the bad, falling asleep soon after. The older of the two, after seeing the gentle rise and fall of his chest, got up to leave.

* * *

><p><strong><em>"I am glad to see that you are alright, Master,<em>_" _**a familiar booming voice said as Toshiro woke up in his inner world. He noted that once again the two other dragons were on either side of Hyorinmaru's great form.

"I am glad to see you once more as well, Hyorinmaru," Toshiro said back, "However, I would like to know what the secret is between the presence of these two," he continued as he glanced at the other dragons.

**_"Well, _someone_ sure is impatient, aren't you?"_**said the fur covered Yuki no Neko Ryuu.

**_"These two," _**Hyorinmaru started to explain, **_"are your__ zanpactou."_**

"What?" Toshiro asked, surprised at what the mighty beast had told him.

**_"It is as he said,__ boy,"_ **No Arashi no Doragon said.

"But I thought that shinigami could only have _one _zanpactou, save Ukitake and Kyoraku."

**_"Usually that would be the case, but you are... special," _**Hyorinmaru said, choosing his words carefully.

"Special?" Toshiro repeated with an eyebrow raised.

**_"Yes. Let me explain. When you first arrived in the Soul Society, your reiatsu was massive, and it brought the attention of the Central 46. When they had located you, they deemed that your reiatsu was _too _massive, and had sealed two-thirds of it. The dragons you see here are the manifested form of those two-thirds."_**

"So you mean to tell me... that I've only been using a _third _of my power?" Toshiro said as realization hit him.

**_"Well basically, yeah," _**Yuki no Neko Ryuu told him.

"But," the boy started, "if you two were sealed, how are you here?"

**_"Hm, I'm not sure,"_**admitted Yuki no, **_"but I think that it has something to do with how you were recently feeling."_**

"With my feelings?" Toshiro said with a voice filled with doubt, "You think that you were able to escape a seal powerful enough to contain both of you for so long made by the Central 46... because of how I was _feeling?_"

Yuki no brought her tail up to her head and started to scratch it with it, saying, **_Well, when you put it like _that****_, it sounds silly."_**

**_"It may sound odd, but it is very possible,"_** Hyorinmaru raised his tail and brought it up to Toshiro before continuing, **_"The strength of emotions is not something to look over. They are powerful, and explains very well how these two were to be here."_**

He put the tip of his tail to where Toshiro's heart was placed, and went on, **_"Hinamori has put much confusion in your mind. She had made you believe that no one was by your side, and that you weren't strong enough to protect yourself and others._**

**_"Your feeling of lonliness could have been what has brought Yuki no Neko Ryuu here. She is a kind and loyal spirit, and would never leave you. She may be a zanpactou, but she also has the childness that you have locked away for so many years, so if you are ever stressed, she can help you relax through her child-like ways._**

**_"And your feeling of weakness may have been what brought No Arashi no Doragon here as well. He was built to fly through the worst of hailstorms, so he is a strong and powerful creature. He will not tolerate weakness. He shall only be wielded by the strongest of warriors, so he will not _let _you be powerless._**

**_"Do you understand now? They can help you in ways no else can."_**

Hyorinmaru did not have to explain to the young captain who which dragon was. He already knew that the more feline of them all was a dragoness by her apperance and voice. "So, seeing how I haven't ever used you, to wield you, I will have to earn it like with Hyorinmaru, am I correct?" Toshiro asked, already knowing the answer.

**_"I'm glad to see that you're not a complete idiot," _**Yuki no gave as her answer.

**_"Yes, you will have to train with them for their power as you had to with me,"_**Hyorinmaru said, ignoring the female's remark.

**_"And you wil begin after you are released from the Forth," _**No Arashi said afterwards.

Toshiro nodded his head in an understanding matter, "Yes, but I have a question, if I may," he said.

_**"Of course,"** _replied Hyorinmaru.

"Earlier this week I had been poisoned by an Adjuchas. Its poison should have caused me pain as it did with Kurosuchi, but it did not. How is it I felt no pain?"

**_"We knew immediantly that the barb had hit your arm, so we used what power we could to numb the pain so that you could still fight,"_**explained No Arashi, **_"But we could not stop the affects of it dulling your senses and body."_**

Toshiro's eyes widened. He did not know that the zanpactou had such abilities. Surely they are powerful, but-

_"Aw, he's still sleeping!" _a female voice whined.

_"Dun worry, we'll jus' see 'im anotha time," _another voice, masuline this time, said.

**_"Aw, seems like somebody has company,"_**Yuki no Neko Ryuu sang.

"Rangiku..." Toshiro said underr his breath.

**_"Now do you see the loyalty of Rangiku?"_**yorinmaru asked, **_"She is still there for you, and this proves it."_**

Hyorinmaru has a point. Rangiku didn't _have _to come to visit.

Suddenly there was a _swoosh _of wind, and before the captain knew it, he felt a strong push on his back.

**_"Go on now, go talk to them!"_**the dragoness said from behind Toshiro, putting her feline tail back behind her. And before he could protest, the white haired youth was out of his inner world.

As the image of the short boy vanished, No Arashi no Doragon calmly moved next to Yuki no...

...and abruptly wacked the back of her head with _his _tail.

**_"OW!"_**uki no yelped, bending her head before placing her front "paws" on top of it, much like a cat would if someone spilled water on thiers. **_"What was that for!"_**she whined.

**_"You cannot just simply _push _your future master out like you did,"_**the male of those two said, **_"It is disrespectful and just downright rude."_**

**_"But if I didn't make him, then he wouldn't!"_**she said back.

**_"And how would you know this?"_**No Arashi asked.

**_"Because I would!"_**She yelled, finally lifting her head to meet the gaze of the larger dragon.

Hyorinmaru just shock his massive head as he watched to two continue to go back and forth, thinking: **_'It seems that being sealed also didn't change their need to constantly argue over small things like this.'_**

* * *

><p>Toshiro's eyes twiched before opening, only to close as the white of the room once again blinded him. <em>'I wonder what made them think of painting the rooms for their patients such a bright color,' <em>he thought while squinting his eyes so that they could adjust better. _'Maybe they _want _to blind them so they can stay longer and have something to do." _

He sat up in the bed, looking to see if the two were still there. They were, and Rangiku's sharp ears had picked up the sound of the ruffling sheets when Toshiro moved, making her turn around to see the awakened child.

"Taicho!" Rangiku yelled as she ran over to him, leaning over it to suffocate him with one of her hugs once she made it. Toshiro, with the woman's large breasts covering his face, could not breathe properly, and therefore could not produce any sound except muffles.

"Oi Ran-chan, dun kill da kid now," Gin said as he walked up to the pair, "He only _jus'_ recovered. Dun make 'im stay any longa."

Hearing this, Rangiku quickly retreated from Toshiro. Toshiro took in many needed breaths of air as the passages were cleared.

"Oh, sorry Taicho," Rangiku apologized, "I was just so excited that you're all better!"

"If I was all better I wouldn't have to stay here," Toshiro muttered, "And it's _Hitsugaya_-Taicho now."

"So, when are they letting you out, Taicho?" Rangiku asked, completely ignoring the youngest person in the room's last statement.

_'I swear she's doing that on purpose,' _Toshiro thought, and answered her question by saying, "I'll be let out in about two more days."

"Actually, it's technically 'bout a day lef', considerin' da time," Gin stated. Toshiro looked out the only window in the room to see what the silver-haired man was talking about, and saw that it was about night time.

_'So much time passed. The last time I remember, it was about moring when I looked outside,' _Toshiro realized.

"Well, it's about time for us to leave, Taicho," Rangiku said, a small, barely detectable hint of sadness in her voice.

Toshiro was able to pick up on it though, and said to her, "Don't forget to do the paperwork. I'm not there to yell at you anymore, so now you don't have any excuse to shirk it off."

Rangiku pouted and retorted, "Aw, but it's so _boring!_ I don't see why we have to do it anyway!"

Toshiro was glad to be able to make her happier, but he knew that she and Gin needs to be with their division.

Their divsion.

_Not mine. Not anymore._

Toshiro shook his head slightly to rid his head of these thoughts. Rangiku's happy, so he is too.

"G'night, Chibi-Taicho!" Gin chimed as he, along with the strawberry blond, walked out the door.

"Ichimaru, don't start calling me that!" Toshiro yelled after them. The sound of Rangiku's laughter was all he got as a response.

The lone patient layed back down on his bed, thinking about what was happening around him. _'It's good to see that they are happy. Wish Ichimaru didn't have to constantly call me stupid nicknames though._

_'But mabe I shouldn't really be thinking that now. I should prepare myself for when the next day is over. I'll have to train with two new zanpactous. I still can't believe it. How can I possibly have _three _zanpactou spirits?_

_'No, there's no point in asking questions like that. I'll most likely not get any answers anyway. I should rest instead of doing that. I'll need the energy.' _and with that, Toshiro's eyes slowly dropped downwards until they completely closed, taking him into a nice, dreamless slumber.

* * *

><p>Little did Toshiro know, he was being watched.<p>

"It's the one!" a masuline voice whispered.

"We can't be for sure," another voice said, this time feminine, "It might just be a coincedence."

"But look at him!" the first voice said, pointing to the sleeping white haired boy, "He looks _exactly _like-"

"I know!" the female hissed, "But it's happened before! When they _look_ it but _aren't_. Do you remember when that happened?"

The man looked away from her and quietly said, "Of course I do."

"Then you know that we need to be patient and wait to see if this is the person we are looking for," a third voice added in, which was also masuline.

"Yes, he is right," the female spoke once more, "Do not worry; it most likely will not be too long."

The owner of the first voice nodded, his head filling with hope that this is the one, that their search will soon be over.

_'Don't worry,' _were the man's thoughts,_ 'we will wait for as long as it takes for us to take you to where you belong, Master.'_

* * *

><p>HAPPY NEW YEARS! It may be around 1:50 A.M. but I'm still giving all my kind readers (if their still there) the chapter they wanted!<p>

And now we have some suspense in here (...hopefully. That was what I was aiming for anyway)! Makes you wonder what's gonna happen next, huh?

If you have ANY questions at all, I'll try my best to answer them! If for some reason you aren't logged on and I cant PM you, then I'll put your question and my answer on the top of my profile page!

Oh, and can you all tell me when my OCs are starting to get Mart-sueish? I can't tell, since I'm aparently one of few writers who don't mind Mary Sues. I know a LOT of people DO mind them though, so...please?

Hope you all have a Happy New Year!

~Winter Lover in the Snow


	4. Chapter 4

Yay, forth chapters! I'm so sorry I couldn't get this in sooner, but my computer was down for a while so I couldn't get anything in:/ But now I have a super

fast new computer, so hopefully no more COMPUTER PROBLEMS will stop me:D

(...okay, I MAY have had a LITTLE Writer's Block too, but not much!)

I wanna thank Emoemo and The Awesome God Apollo for reviewing last chapter (and T.A.G.A. again for sticking with me the WHOLE time so far:D). You guys ROCK!

Oh, and another thing, I'm gonna be calling Yuki no Neko Ryuu and No Arashi no Doragon just Yuki no and No Arashi a LOT. I don't think you all would like having to read those long

names over and over (I'd do the same with Sode no Shirayuki: i would shorten it to just Sode no). Hope you don't mind:p

THIS IS GONNA BE A LONGER CHAPTER!

Note: Kido spells with be in italics.

Onto the chapter!

Disclaimer: Sometimes I wish I own Bleach, but then I remember how much it would suck if I didXD

~Previously on More Than One Side~

I should prepare myself for when the next day is over. I'll have to train with two new zanpactous. I still can't believe it. How can I possibly have three zanpactou spirits?

'No, there's no point in asking questions like that. I'll most likely not get any answers anyway. I should rest instead of doing that. I'll need the energy.' and with that, Toshiro's eyes

slowly dropped downwards until they completely closed, taking him into a nice, dreamless slumber.

"It's the one!" a masuline voice whispered.

"It's happened before! When they look it but aren't. Do you remember when that happened?"

"Then you know that we need to be patient and wait to see if this is the person we are looking for," a third voice added in, which was also masuline.

'Don't worry,' were the man's thoughts, 'we will wait for as long as it takes for us to take you to where you belong, Master.'

Present Time~

Toshiro walked down the halls of the Tenth division, after being released from the Forth. He knew that he needed to train with his newly discovered zanpactous, but he knew he also

needed to check the status of his division while he was gone, seeing how if he wasnt't there, his fifth seat, Orenji Hana, had to take over temporarily. He wanted to make sure that

everything was in place, seeing how the orange haired, brown eyed young man was a little timid when it came to people.

"Aw, someone doesn't trust his subordinate," Yuki no sang mentally.

'Be quiet," Toshiro said back to her.

When he made it to his office. he saw that the man, along with the shinigami Unohana had said she had assigned, were all doing the paperwork on all sides of his desk in peace, with no mess or sign of discomfort detectable whatsoever.

Orenji, hearing the noise of the door sliding open, looked up to see who had entered and saw it was his captain. He stood up from his position and bowed to him, saying to him, "Taicho!

I, um, am glad to see tha-"

"Stop," Toshiro interuppted, "don't force yourself to talk. You, along with the rest of you, may go back to your regular stations now. Thank you for helping with the work."

Orenji only nodded in understanding, muttereda silent 'You're welcome', and quickly left the office, followed by the helpers from the Forth, the last one closing the door behind them.

Once Toshiro saw that they had left, he went over to his desk and saw that every single sheet of paperwork was INDEED done. He had no need to be here.

He headed out of his office doors and went through the confusing corridors of his division halls, walking outside of them and started to shunpo towards the West Gate, planning to go

outside of the Seireitei to find an appropreate place to train so that no one would disrupt or distract him.

After making it to his destination, he bellowed, "Jidanbo! Open the gate!"

Soon after, the massive gate slowly began to rise, before it fully revealed the large form of Ikkazankan Jidanbo. He looked down upon Toshiro and smiled.

"Ah, Shiro-chan!" he said to his long-time friend,"What brings you to want to come to Rukongai? Coming to visit your granny? It's been awhile since the last time you had."

"No, I haven't planned on it," Toshiro answered, walking to the other side of the gate as to not make Jidanbo hold it open, "but I might now that you have mentioned it. And don't call me that."

The huge man turned his head to the side slightly in confusion, "But, if not that, then why do you want to be here?"

Toshiro hesitated, not knowing for sure if he should tell him his true reason for coming, He decided against it, seeing how Jidanbo is one who would rather like to talk than keep quiet.

Toshiro wasn't sure if he wanted to have people know about Yuki no and No Arashi.

"Just wanting to take a break from working a bit," he lied. Hopefully the gorilla-looking man didn't know about his stay in the Forth.

Jidanbo smiled once more and crouched down, patting Toshiro on the head, "That's nnice. You deserve to take one. I hear you're a very busy captain," He said, falling for the lie.

Toshiro's knees buckled as he allowed him to pat his head. He moved out of the way after a few times and started to walk away, saying to the man, "Alright, I hope to see you later,

Jidanbo."

"And me you, Shiro-chan," He yelled to the white-haired male's retreating form.

He didn't bother trying to tell him to correct himself.

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+ - Toshiro shunpoed around the area of Rukongai until he found the perfect place; a deserted, large mass of land, with no organisms around for miles to come. It didn't even have grass,

just a land of dust and ground. He closed his eyes and relaxed, slowly slipping into his inner world of icy coldness, where the three dragons awaited.

He looked up at them and said, "Alright, so what am I to do?"

"You might wanna try being more specific," Yuki no said, flicking her tail from side to side.

"Am I to fight you? Or am I to go through a test of some sort?" he explained.

"Both!" Yuki no exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" Toshiro asked, baffled by the creature's response.

"You will have to prove to us that you are both physically and mentally ready to wield us," No Arashi told him, "We will not be held by someone who isn't strong

enough, or is too idiotic."

"So you'll have to fight us both, and go through a test!" Yuki no chimed.

"I see," Toshiro inclined his head in thought. He rose it again and asked them, "So who am I to face first?"

**_"Me!" _**Yuki no shouted, and pounced at him, landing in front of the boy. She put her massive head near Toshiro's ear and whispered, **_"I'm going to be the one to test you,_**** Shiro-chan."**

Before he could question her with what she had meant, the sky had opened up, and snow fell quickly, creating a blizzard of an incredible measure. Hyorinmaru and No Arashi's figures were soon completely consumed. White surrounded him, and winds beated against all of his sides. Toshiro put one of his arms on front of his eyes and squinted, hoping to see better when he did, but it helped him none.

**_"It's no use!" _**the female voice resounded in the raging winds, echoing all around him, making it impossible to pin-point its location, **_"No matter what you do, all you will see is white! See if you can find me in this blizzard!"_**

_'How am I going to do that?'_ he asked himself. Yuki no Neko Ryuu was _already _mainly a white-colored dragon. This blizzard would be like a camoflauge for her, and it doesn't help that he can't see a foot in front of him anyway.

He started to walked forward anyway, determined to locate the dragoness. He kept walking, waving his arms in front of him to try and feel for her, but with no success. He CONTINUED doing this, thinking of ways to somehow find her.

He could try to sense her, but what good would that do? This snowstorm is of her creation, her _reiatsu._ Trying to seek her out like that would be pointless. And it was obvious he was going nowhere with just walking around randomly.

_'Damn it, she could be _anywhere! _How am I suppossed to-_

_Wait... she_ could _be anywhere, but that doesn't mean she's actually _away_.'_

He spread his arms to his sides, and sure enough, his right arm brushed against soft fur. The snow soon began to disappear, the winds SLOWING down to a gentle breeze brushing his face. He looked to his right to see the white dragoness strech from her crouched postion. She was crawling by his side the whole time

**_"Heh, that took you awhile,"_**she mocked fakely.

"You never said I had to be fast," Toshiro said back.

**_"True, but I'm curious. What made you think I was next to you? How did you know I _****wasn't ****_just hiding in the snow?"_**she asked the young captain.

"You are my zanpactou, a piece of my soul. I have to trust you to be by my side." he told Yuki no.

The female nodded her head. **_"That is a pretty good answer. "_**

He then smirked and added, "Besides, you _hardly _seem the type to sit around and hide."

Yuki no blinked in surprise.

"From what I can tell from you, you are an extremely hyper creature. There was just no _way _you'd be able to stay in one place for so long."

**_"S-shut up!"_**she stuttered out, **_"I can too hold still! Just you wait, I'm gonna surprise you soooo much, you won't be able to _****anything****_! I'm-"_**

**_"Going to let_**** me ****_go now?" _**No Arashi no Doragon said before she could finish, revealing that he and Hyorinmaru had not gone anywhere during the search.

She shook her head side to side rapidly, saying to the larger dragon, **_"Nuh-uh-_****uh, ****_No-No-kun. I'm going to fight him first!"_**

**_"And why is this?"_**he asked with a cocked head, **_"You were the first to already test him, so why must you be the first to fight him as well?"_**

**_"Because,"_** She started,, **_"lady's first_**," she finished with a wink.

**_"There's no point in trying to argue with her, No Arashi,"_**Hyorinmaru said to the other male dragon, who was growling at the feline reptile, **_"She will just keep going and going until _****you ****_run out of energy to say anything else."_**

**_"...I suppose your right,"_**he submitted.

Toshiro just wiated patiently, watching the dragons discuss among themselves. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He remember facing Hyorinmaru for shikai. Now he has to do that two more times, with who knew _how _strong opponents.

_'Calm down,' _he ordered himself, _'You have to do this.'_

**_"Alright!"_**Yuki no proclaimed, snapping Toshiro out of his thoughts, **_"How about we leave this place and go outside?"_**

Toshiro's eyes widened with shock."What do you mean by that?" he asked.

**_"I _****mean****_, let's train outside of here!"_**she basically repeated, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"But _why_?" he questioned.

**_"Well, you'll have to use us from outside this place right? So why not start now?"_**she clarified, her voice for once becoming serious as she CONTINUED, **_"Besides, using our power _****here ****_and using it out _****there ****_are two completely differnt things. While you have all the elements you need here, out there isn't the same._**

**_"You may be around a body of water, yes, that's true, but what if you're in a desert, with next to no water? Or if an enemy comes, there _****are ****_no enemies here. Like a safe haven. But out _****there ****_are hollows, rouge Shinigami, and many others._**

**_"See where I'm going with this? We want you be be ready for _****anything ****_that might come at you."_**

Toshiro nodded his head to show that he comprehended her logic. "But how would I summon you out?"

**_"We can handle that much on our own,"_**answered No Arashi.

_**"If Hyori-chan could, we can too!*"**_Yuki no said, using her more childish side once more.

"Well then, if that's the case," Toshiro looked up at the three once more, "shall we begin?"

**_"Of course, master,"_**said Hyorinmaru.

The plain of ice slowly faded away, as Toshiro began to leave.

* * *

><p>When Toshiro opened his eyes, he saw that the area around him had been coated in a slight layer of frost. He frowned at that; didn't that stop when he mastered Hyorinmaru?<p>

_'It must have been because I have yet to master the other two,' _he rationalized, thinking no more of it.

"Aaaah," a female voice rang behind him, "It feels so nice being out here!"

Toshiro looked back to observe the source of the voice, but what he saw surprised him.

He was of cousre able to see Hyorinmaru and No Arashi, thier large form overtowering his. But where was Yuki no? He heard her voice...

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, huh?" her voice came again, "I'll be fighting you in my human form. You know, to better help you before you face the _beauty _of my true form."

A petite figure came out from behind the two dragons, her body covered in a black cloak, and her head enshroaded by a hoad. Yuki no grabbed the cloth covering her face, and pulled it back to reveal...

...a face that was identical to Toshiro's.

Every curve of her face, her spike in her white hair, and, as Toshiro just now noticed, the height at which she stood, was _exactly _like his.

She pulled the whole thing off, revealing that she was wearing a kimono-like outfit, the exception being the hakama, the thing in all being a pure white.

_'Wha-?' _Toshiro couldn't believe what he was seeing. Why did she look like him? She could be his twin!

_'Wait, what's that?'_ Toshiro looked closer, observing her shape once more. There were differences. She of course had a slightly more feminine stance and view. And her eyes. The left one was alike to his, but the right was what it would be if was still in her true form; a saphire blue, with a slanted pupil, going to the left.

"What's the matter?" She asked, and that's when she flicked the tail behind her, it still being having its spiked end, "Are you okay? You're looking at me all funny."

Toshiro blinked, and said, "I'm sorry, but, you just surprised me. I mean, you look like..."

"Yeah yeah, I look like you, I know," she said, waving her hand up and down in pure boredom, "I look like this when I wanna play around. But I'm pretty shocked too; never really thought about it 'till now."

She shook her head though, as if to refresh herself, and said, "Enough with all that! Let's get to trainin'!"

Yuki no then put her arm out to the side, and then snow started to form around her hand, before striking out to the side. It formed the shape of a sword, and the snow blew away, leaving a blade of the look of a regular katana, with the exception being the white dots that dance acrossed the gray handle.

"Oh, and before I forget to mention this," she said, getting into a fighting position, "don't even _think_ about using Hyorinmaru. This is training for _me _right now, so you'll need to figure out how to use it."

Foregoing the chance to give Toshiro time to respond, she was suddenly in front of him, swinging her blade horizantally to the right. Toshiro had barely gotten his own sword out fast enough to match it with the female. He pushed forward, and sparks flew as the blades were changing in their places so quickly. Yuki no was pushed back, and slid back several feet away from the captain.

He charged forward, swinging his blade to the left as he did. He had expected her to block, but that's when Yuki no did something he thought was ironic, seeing how he did something similar it to Gin those years ago.

She jump _onto _the blade, going the same direction as momentum prevent him from stopping. She raised her blade, and intended to bring it down. But before she got the chance, Toshiro brought his sword quickly to the side, knocking her off and towards the ground. She landed gracfully on her feet just as it looked like she was going to land on her side.

Quickly bringing his index and middle fingers together, he shouted, "Hado Number Thrity-One, _Shakkaho_!", waving his arm to the right afterwards.

A red ball of fire came charging toward the female. But before it had the cance to hit her, Yuki no jumped high into the air, making the Shakkaho spell go onto the field, out the sight of everyone there.

Toshiro immediantly reacted to her action, calling out another kido spell, "Bakudo number Nine, _Horin_!"

The orange tendril managed to tangled around her ankle, and once it did, Toshiro pull downwards, bringing Yuki no down as well. A large puff of smoke and dust arose from where she had landed, and Toshiro grabbed hold of the tendril with his free hand. He then chanted, "Hado nuber Eleven, _Tsuzuri Raiden_!"

The yellow current of electricity ran down the _Horin _spell and raced towards the female. But before it could reach her, the _Horin _spell suddenly was cut off, leaving the _Tsuzuri Raiden _to dissipate into nowhere.

"Heh, I gotta hand it to you, kid," Yuki no's voice sounded from the cloud of smoke still shrouding her. It blew away swiftly causing Toshiro to put an arm in front of him to hide them from the dust and bareing the image of the person cloaked in its clutched to him. When he put his arm down, he noticed immediantly a change in the sword Yuki no was holding against her side.

Instead of the simple katana it had been before, its blade shone an eye-blinding white, having a light blue snowflake-shaped guard that seperated the blade from its pitch-black handle. "I'd _never _thought you'd get me to use my shikai so fast," she winked and CONTINUED some more, "I guess that's why you're a taicho, ne?"

_'How could she have her shikai out?' _Toshiro mused as he took in her stance, ready to strike at any time, _'I didn't even hear her release!'_

"Get ready, kid!" Yuki no exclaimed, "It's not gonna be so easy now! Just-"

"You think it came from here?" a voice suddenly came out, causing all of them to tense up. Hyorinmaru, No Arashi and Yuki no had already returned to their inner world.

"Yeah, the villagers said that the _Shakkaho _came from this direction," another said.

**_"Quick get out!"_**Yuki no shouted in Toshiro's mind. He agreed with no hesitation; the shinigami coming might have some suspicions as to why a captain was out _here _training, when they had their own training arena in the Seireitei. Toshiro left without a trace, the frost melting away while fighting off the cat-dragon.

Once in two patrol shinigami arrived, they saw nothing saying that anyone was here. They thus left to go further, never stopping once to think the cause to be heading the other direction.

* * *

><p>Toshiro, once he was done escaping the watchful eyes of the two shinigami, stopped in the first district of West Rukongai, Jurinran. Remembering what he had said to Jidanbou about visiting his grandmother, he headed down the still familiar streets of his hometown. Memories of histime here with Momo flooded his mind, and he found himself feeling rather sad about what has become of his childhood friend.<p>

**_"That was a close one,"_**Yuki no suddenly popped up, making Toshiro lose his focus about his troubled friend. She, along with No Arashi and Hyorinmaru, sensed the overwhelming sadness engulfing the young captain like a blanket of darkness, leaving him seeing nothing but the past that was, but isn't now.

**_"_****_INDEED_****_ it was,"_**No Arashi added.

_'I suppose,' _Toshiro said in his mind as he continued down the path, ignoring the glances of weariness of fear from the locals with a long since trained posture.

**_"What the hell happened anyway?"_**Yuki no asked, confused as to why the two shinigami had interuppted thier training session.

_'Remember the Shakkaho that I had shot at you?' _Toshiro reminded her, _'You jumped out of its way and it continued onward. It seems as though it had hit a tree or some other object during its way.'_

_**"Oh yeah,"**_Yuki no said with a childish glint in her voice. Then something struck her, **_"It went pretty far to say it was _****just ****_a Shakkaho, don't you think?"_**

Toshiro was about to say something, but stopped when he realized that he had reached his destination. Granny's house.

He took a deep breath before going in. It has been a long while since he had visited his grandmother; the lasted he can think of now is before he set off for the Winter War, nearly _two years_. He was nervous about what he was going to say, or if she was going to be upset.

He opened the curtain leading into the main room, and saw that his granny was not here. He got worried; she was usually found in here, it being her favorite room, second only to the room with the view of her watermelon garden. His worry soon faded though, as he heard some rustling in the room where she made the meals and tea. A small kitchen, if you can call it that.

"Granny?" Toshiro called softly, not wanting to disturb her too greatly with whatever she was doing. The sound of footsteps resounded through the empty house as Hana Hitsugaya* made her way through the rooms to find her grandson in the main room waiting for her.

"Oh Shiro-chan," she said, and, as fast as her old legs could carry her, went over to him and gave him a hug full of emotion. Toshiro would usually push away, what with him not being one of close embraces like this one. But with everything that had happened these past couple years, he accepte her hug, and even hugged back. "It's so nice to see you after all this time," he heard her whisper in his ear.

"It's nice to see you too, Granny," he whispered back.

They broke apart and just looked at each other, taking in what the years had done to the other. Toshiro, to what Hana could see, had barely changed with when he had last visited her, then difference being the two extra inches that he had. And of course, another being the fact the boy's eyes reflected the pain they had witnessed while fighting in the war, hidden cleverly by the sheet of happiness and care they had now. She knew though, that they would become harsh and cold once more after he left, and the thought saddened her slightly.

And Hana, in Toshiro's eyes, had seemed to shrink even more, and had gotten a few more WRINKLES upon her aged face. And her eyes spoke of the joy of seeing him once more, seeing him okay and glad to see her.

_'Should I tell her?' _he asked his mind's occupants.

**_"Tell her what, little one?" _**Hyorinmaru asked back.

_'About you all,' _Toshiro clarified, _'If anyone has a right to know it's her.'_

**_"Are you sure about this?"_**No Arashi asked the white-haired youth. He knew, along with the other two, that Toshiro was wary about their existance, and was uncertain whether or not he should tell _anyone _of them, even if it's the wman who raised him as a child.

_'I am,' _Toshiro answered, no confusion or thought clouding his voice, _'I know for sure that Granny can be trusted.'_

_**"If you feel so strongly about it, then I suppose it is fine,"**_Hyorinmaru said to him.

Toshiro then returned his focus on Hana, who had been waiting patiently for Toshiro to finish. She knew enough about shinigami to know that they had conversations with their zanpactou.

"Granny," he started, "may I tell you something?"

"Of course dear," she told him.

"Well, I have this...secret, and I wanted to see another's opinion about it," he explained, chosing his words with mild difficulty.

"What is it, Shiro-chan?" she questioned. She was flattered to know that he trusted her so much as to tell her something that felt the need to keep to himself.

"I have recently discovered that I have been sealed as a child by the Central Forty-Six, and that I hae two other zanpactou sprits with me."

Hana's eyes widened with horror and fear, _'Oh no,' _she thought, _'What if they come after him? They will search nd destroy everything in sight for him.'_

"Toshiro, I'm glad you told me this," Hana stated to her grandson, "You should not let _anyone _know of their existance."

Toshiro was shocked. Why would she say this to him? "Why, Granny?" the words excaped his lips before he could stop them.

Hana stopped for a moment, trying to gather to right words to tell him. _'He does not have to know about them,' _she reasoned with herself, _'It's most likely best if he doesn't'_

"If the Central Forty-Six themselves sealed them, they will not likely be pleased to know that it has broken," she went with, "It's best if they still think that their power is still at work."

Toshiro nodded his head, showing he knows and understands her. _'Why haven't I thought this?' _Toshiro scolded himself, _'I know better than most that the Central Forty-Six isn't pleased with not having their way.'_

"Alright Granny," Toshiro said, "I promise to keep this to myself."

A few silent moments passed of them sitting there, thinking about the words spoken. Then Hana broke the silence saying, "Well, it was nice of you to visit Shiro-chan, but you should be going on your way."

Toshiro then got up, showing that he agreed.

"But before you go, take this with you," Hana then took a grayish bag and gave it to the chibi captain, "I hope you still like ammanato. I was making some when you arrived."

He accepted the bag, already smelling the scent of the beans emitting from the bag, "Thank you, Granny."

Toshiro turned to leave, when he heard her say to him, "Be careful Shiro-chan."

He turned his face over his shoulder and gave her a small smile, "I will, Granny," and left the small hut.

* * *

><p>Author's Notes<p>

Okay, not counting the Author Notes, this chapter has OVER FIVE THOUSAND WORDS! YES *does a lil' dance*

*Remember, Toshiro's grandmother doesn't have a known name, so I'll call her Hana for the sake of this story

So, Hana knows something that Toshiro doesn't. Wonder what it could be...

And sorry about the fight scene. They are most certainly NOT my forte, and they usually suck ass, so don't get your hope up for good ones anytime soonTT_TT

Happy Valentine's Day!

~Winter Lover in the Snow


	5. Chapter 5

Oh hi there. So it's been awhile.

Between really bad Writer's Block, bad Internet, school, and reading a bunch of manga at once, I kinda forgot about this story. ^^; But I figured I better try and keep going else it'll be one of those stories that never get finished, and good or bad, stories don't deserve that :p

As it's been a bit of long lapse in time, I can only hope that I can keep the story in the same feel as it was before, though some things have changed a bit. ;w;

Thank you all who reviewed the last chapter those years ago :,D

Hope you enjoy~ :D

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did Bazz-B would be Renji's BEST BUDDY FO' LIFE.

_~Previously on More Than One Side~_

"_**See where I'm going with this? We want you to be ready for **_**anything**_** that might come at you."**_

"_I have this… secret."_

'_What if they come after him?'_

"_I'm glad you told me this. You should not let _anyone_ know of their existence."_

"_Be careful Shiro."_

_~Present Time, Afternoon~_

Toshiro was walking down the streets of the Seireitei, thinking about what to do about where he should train. Should he go find another, more remote training spot, farther away from civilization? It would get pretty late if he did, considering it had taken a while to find the first one. Should he just keep that one and be more careful? Perhaps setting up some barriers to help with stray Kido spells. But that would restrict his mobility, if he should create one surrounding him, and with Hyorinmaru and No Arashi's sizes in consideration, it would have to be _huge_, and taxing; he'd be too tired to train! If he made one just in front of civilization, he'd still have to make one of considerable size, should his training make him move large distances.

He decided to think about it later, for right now someone was running up to him. Someone familiar.

"_Caaaptaaain!"_

Rangiku was coming in fast, with Gin in tow, and stopped right in front of him, panting slightly before continuing.

"Where _were_ you?" she asked with mock hurt, crossing her arms. "We heard you were released, so we went to your office and you weren't there! Confess to where you were!"

Granny's words rang through his head, and he thought against telling even Rangiku about his new found power.

'_Besides, I have no real reason to tell her.' _Toshiro rationalized. _'And what would I say to her? 'Well actually Rangiku I was training to gain control over the other two zanpakuto I found out I had, Cool, huh!' She couldn't help either way, and it would probably worry herself too much about it. She still has to adjust to actually doing her work anyway. Maybe when I get a better hold on it I'll tell her."_

As for now, he quickly thought up a half-truth; "I was just training."

"Really now?" Gin questioned, catching up and putting in his piece. "Fo' so lon'? Weren't ya released this mornin'?"

Toshiro shrugged a shoulder. "I lost track of the time, that's all."

Rangiku pouted "What!? And after all that talk about me coming in late! I call hypocrisy!"

"Well, Rangiku, our circumstances are a tad different." Toshiro countered. "While _I_ was out doing something productive, _you_ were always out shirking your work. I'm hoping that's changed by now?"

"Nope~" Gin chimed in.

"Who says it's not productive?!" Rangiku exclaimed. "You can't just keep working all day! You need socialization! Or else you'd be a lonely little crab," and she emphasized this by opening and closing her hands, "a crabby little crab."

Toshiro just rolled his eyes.

"Awww, dun look like tha' Bitty~" Gin sang. "She's been doin' pretty good, all thins' considerin'."

The short captain glared at the new nickname, but nodded in approval nonetheless. "That's good to know."

The forth seat in question suddenly slapped her cheek, and said, "Oh! Sorry Captain, it was nice talking to you, but we have to be somewhere soon or we'll be late!" She hugged Toshiro quickly before he could protest, and shouted a cheerful "Hope to see you again soon!" before running off, putting Gin back in another game of Catch-Up.

"Oi, oi, so impatient~" he said, before also running off.

Toshiro started leaving too, but not before looking at them going away with a sort of sad happiness. _'So happy without me there…'_

"_**Whiiiine~" **_Yuki no sang with a touch of cruelty.

'_Oh shut up.' _Toshiro said half-heartedly, coming out of his sad mood. But she was right. He couldn't keep moping about them forever. Besides, he has to get himself ready; he was thinking about maybe going over to Momo and seeing how she was-

"_**Noooooo!"**_ The dragoness whined herself, surprising Toshiro. _**"No Momo, no Momo!"**_

'_What?'_ he had to ask. _'Why not?'_

He could almost feel the glare that on her face. _**"Cuz she's a meanie." **_He could then hear her rolling over. After a slight pause, she continued; _**"Wait 'till she's not a meanie anymore."**_

'What?!' he repeated, completely shocked at the suggestion. How could he possibly wait until Momo got better to talk to her again? That could be months! _Years _even!

'_Wait till she's not a problem anymore to talk to her.' _Toshiro said, sarcasm oozing from each word. _'Because of course that's what a friend's for, right? Waiting until you deal with what's wrong with you before coming near you? What other use for them is there!?'_

"_**Aw come on," **_Yuki no said in a tiny voice. _**"Harsh."**_

"_**She may be onto something, Master." **_Hyorinmaru said. _**"Giving her a bit of space might do her good. How often have you been visiting her?"**_

'_I don't know,' _he waited a bit before answering; _'about once a week, maybe?'_

"_**And has she seemed to appreciate it at all?"**_

Toshiro didn't answer. It didn't need to be said.

"_**Exactly. I know you mean the very best for her, but telling her how bad Aizen really was does not seem to be helping her. If anything she seems to get stressed from it and lash it out on you. I am sure you wouldn't want someone saying things like that about K-"**_

'Don't." Toshiro interrupted. _'Don't… mention him.'_

He heard rustling, and he assumed it was Hyorinmaru nodding. _**"But you understand it better now, right?"**_

He mentally, and reluctantly, nodded.

'_But… I just…' _He didn't know what to say. I just didn't feel right to just _stop._

"_**You don't want to feel as if you're abandoning her," **_No Arashi said, finishing his thought. _**"But at the same time you know that you two will only harm each other if you go."**_

Toshiro breathed in deeply. _'Yes.'_

"_**The decision is a hard one on you. I understand that. But in order for you two to be able to move on, you have to decide which is the worse of two evils; your feelings of guilt in leaving, or the feelings of rage and hatred you two breed off each other."**_

He knew which was worse; that was easy. Momo couldn't and wouldn't recover if she was bombarded with pressure to move on from him. They would both keep continue a horrible cycle of insults, assumptions, and hatred until it eventually got rid of them both, one way or the other. He knew he had to cut it off now, before it came to a point where he couldn't.

But he also knew what would happen if he went through with this. It would start as a nagging feeling in the back of his thoughts. It would be something he could ignore with a little effort. But it would soon grow to be something nearly unbearable. It would spread from his head throughout his body, going on for days, months, so _long_ a time that he'd be driven nearly mad.

_How could you?_

_How could you abandon her?_

_After everything you put her through you're just going to _leave_?_

_Is that what you consider a solution? Running away?_

It had happened when he had first left his granny. He had felt nothing but an overwhelming sadness for the longest time, even though he knew it was what was best for the both of them, even knowing that his grandmother had approved his going away.

It was going to be worst with Momo. He could feel it.

He closed his eyes, took a shaky breath, and reopened his eyes, finding his was in front of his office. He hadn't noticed that he had walked so far, but he was glad for it; paperwork would help him clear his head a bit.

"_**He really is worried, isn't he?" **_Yuki no asked, looking on as her owner dove head first into the pool of work that had grew since he had left.

Hyorinmaru nodded. _**"I know you two were sealed then, but I think even you could feel how utterly horrendous he had felt."**_

She nodded, remembering how much colder it had gotten, and how long it had stayed that way.

"_**Why hadn't the seals broken **_**then**_**?" **_she asked. _**"He was plenty emotional then."**_

"_**Mostly the seals were stronger then than now," **_answered No Arashi, _**"having not been worn down by age."**_

"_**It could also be due to the person causing the strain." **_Hyorinmaru said. _**"Hinamori always had been able to get to Master Hitsugaya more than anyone else."**_

Suddenly, with an abruptness that startled the two dragons, Yuki no pounded the ground hard, which, with her strength, caused a slight shift in the ground.

"_**That's it then! No more sad time for **_**my**_** Master! I'm gonna make him soooo distracted with my training and loveable attitude that he can think of nothing else!"**_

Her positive excitement over her "plan" made Hyorinmaru chuckle and No Arashi shake his head. But they saw her logic. A shift in focus would probably greatly benefit Master Hitsugaya, and he _did_ need the training.

"_**When he gets done with the work, we'll tell him," **_Hyorinmaru suggested, to which the two agreed.

'_**Prepare yourself for a beating, Master.'**_

It turns out it hadn't taken Toshiro very long at all to finish the work at least, all things considered. Though there was a good amount that had managed to pile up, he sped through it as fast as he possibly could while still maintaining an appropriate handwriting, and after a few hours, got it all done. By the time he was done, however, it was nearing evening time.

'_Should I sleep now?' _he wondered, _'or go and find a training spot?'_

"**Master,"** Hyorinmaru chided, _**"do you really need to ask yourself this? You have not slept all day. Get some rest."**_

"_**I dunno," **_Yuki no said, and Toshiro could almost see her wagging her tail, _**"I think you can go a little longer. C'mon! Let's go train now!"**_

"_**No." **_was Hyorinmaru's answer.

"_**But you were the one that said-"**_

"_**I hadn't factored in how much time it would take for him to-"**_

"_**Oooooo~" **_the female's voice rang in Toshiro's ears, _**"You're a liiiiiaaar~"**_

He could hear two sets of sighs. He chuckled, before he put his down and closed his eyes, and went to sleep. The last sound he heard was Yuki no's words of protest before he was out.

_Too much._

_You want us to fight to the _death_?"_

"_Hyorinmaru belongs to _me_!"_

"_Kusaka, wait-!"_

_A blur-_

"_Granny, I'm sorry….I'm so sorry"_

_A frozen body, old and stiff, only the slight shivering giving any sign of life._

"_Please… I'm so sorry."_

"_Plea-"_

"**I hate you! **_**I hate you with all I have left in me!"**_

_Too __**much. **_

_Calm down, please, just-_

"_Don't do this to him! He's just a child!"_

"_Are you senile old woman?! If we do nothing he'll freeze every last one of us, and that's if he doesn't die first!"_

"_There must be something else, some alternative to _this-_"_

_Please, stop screaming, just stop, __**stop, STOP-**_

"_Ah!" _Toshiro exclaimed, waking from the nightmare. He panted slightly, letting the adrenaline slow down before doing anything. When he'd calm down enough, he leaned back in his chair.

It'd been a while since he'd had a dream that was as bad as that.

'_Must be the stress.'_

"_**And do **_**you **_**know what's just puuurfect for that?" **_he heard the female voice sing. _**"Training! Let's get to it, shall we~?"**_

'_DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS_?' Toshiro shouted mentally. He looked at the time, and it confirmed his suspensions. He had not slept long at all, and it was nearing two in the morning.

"_**Oh don't be like that!" **_Yuki no countered. _**"What bad has a little late night training done anybody? And there's plenty of moonlight out to see with, **_**and**_**snow looks so pretty**__**at night! There are no cons to be heard of!"**_

'_Night patrollers." _was Toshiro answer to that. Getting caught didn't sound like a very appealing idea to him.

"…_**oh," **_was her meek response. Though that hadn't lasted long; _**"Then use your sneaky-sneak powers to get past them all!"**_

He paused. _'My _what _powers?'_

"_**Master," **_Hyorinmaru said, joining the small debate, _**"you could always say that you're just giving your grandmother a late night visit. I'm sure they wouldn't mind."**_

He could hear No Arashi grunting in an agreeing manner. Three against one, then. He supposed with such odds he could never convince them, stubborn as they all are.

"_**So says you~" **_came the childish response.

Ignoring that, he considered other options. Which were to say, he had none. At this time of the night, it was highly unlikely that anyone from his squad would be awake to drill, all the work was done, none having been brought in the while his was sleeping, and he certainly wasn't going _back_ to sleep, after that nightmare. He didn't have anyone he was close to that he could think of that would be awake. So, really, training was all he could really do to past the time with (besides reading, but the thought of being assaulted with constant babble from Yuki no discouraged any notion of doing that activity).

He sighed, stretched, and got up. "I suppose since there's nothing else to do…" he mused aloud.

"_**Yay!" **_Yuki no cheered happily. _**"I'm gonna kick your **_**aaaa**_**aaass*~"**_

'_What?'_

"_**Nothing~"**_

The excuse of an overnight visit to a relative in the Rukongai had its intended effect. The patrollers he came across all thought it was fine, if a tad unusual for the normally reclusive captain, and let him pass with little to no trouble. When he reached the gate he asked a sleepy Jidanbou to open the gate.

"Shiro-chan," he groaned, obviously somewhat displeased at being awoken from his slumber, "why are you up so early? A young boy needs his sleep!"

He glared his eyes at being called a "young boy," but gave the same answer as he did the patrollers.

"Oh, how sweet!" Jidanbou exclaimed. At Toshiro slightly frantic movements, he said, more quietly, "I'm happy to hear you're going to visit her more! Although, I would consider picking a later time in the day to do so," he joked.

Toshiro actually took that thought to heart. _'After tonight I'll have to find a better time to do this.' _He nodded up at the giant. "I'll try, Jidanbou."

After a tad more talking he went on his way. But, he decided after a few minutes, he really ought to visit Granny more and he did go over to the old hut. If anything, anyone who happened to come across him would see him actually going to her like he said he would. He'll just have to use a bit of his "sneaky-sneak powers" going out.

He eventually reached his childhood home and entered. He was planning on just staying for a few minutes and leaving, not expecting his elderly caretaker to be awake at this hour. But, to his surprise, she was, and she had just seemed to have finished making some tea before seeing him.

"Oh!" she said, just as shocked as Toshiro. "Whatever are you doing up at this hour, young man? Don't you know someone as young as you need their sleep? You'll never grow if you keep this up!" she chided playfully. In truth it was a nice surprise seeing her grandson here, even if it was a bit early.

"_Granny," _he groaned. That made two people today pointing out his shortness. Hopefully that was the last of it. He coughed, and went to answering; "I couldn't sleep, so I thought about training for a while. But why are _you_ awake?"

Hana's eyes twinkled. "I heard it was going to be a pretty night tonight. I was going out to watch the sky."

Toshiro thought about the last time he had done with her, just watching the sky. It had been entirely too long ago. "Maybe I could stay a few minutes with you?"

The old woman smiled at the suggestion. "Of course, dear."

So they went out together, on the small porch, watching the sky as the few clouds that were there parted away from the moon, giving a beautiful view of the full circle of light. He couldn't help but think about when he had done this with both Granny and Momo, years ago, before any talk about Shinigami and Aizen and war and Hollows came anywhere near them. Peaceful moments, where they were just a small, happy family, content with small things such as a clear sky and ripe fruit. He almost thought to mention Momo to Granny, but thought against it. Momo can be discussed later; doing it now would only bring sadness to a pretty sky. Now, he only let himself think of the good moments…

_Granny glanced at her grandson, and saw with a grim look a single tear going down Toshiro's face. She hoped that she can help him more, but seeing as he was so intent at watching the nice moon, she decided to let the silence resume for now. He deserved a few moments a quiet._

After a little while had passed, Toshiro got up. As much as he wanted to stay, doing so would spend time he had to use getting to where he had to train. He looked over to his granny. "I have to go now…"

"That's fine, dear," she said, "go on ahead."

He nodded, and went out the back entrance to try and not be seen by the few people who had come out to also see the sky. When he had went far enough for there to be no one around, he quickly went into Shunpo towards the area he had went to last time to train. He had thought of a plan while he at the paperwork to prevent anything from going anywhere.

Finally reaching the huge land mass, he brought out Hyorinmaru and made a large wall of ice, separating him from the direction of civilization. It was simple enough to do so, and it hadn't taken as much energy as setting up a complicated barrier would have. He had wished he'd thought of it sooner. That being settled, he went off to start.

"_**Took you long enough," **_Yukino said,

'_Shush.'_

Soon after, the three zanpakuto manifested themselves, with Hyorinmaru and No Arashi as their larger dragon forms, and Yuki no once again taking her petite, more human form.

She wasted no time; she quickly took out her Shikai form, holding the sword out to a shocked Toshiro. "Right where we left off!" she exclaimed. "No holding back! And _you_ two," she turned to the two dragons behind her, "be better watchmen!"

The two seemed to take slight offense at the apparent position they have taken, but before Toshiro could react, Yuki no swiftly charged at him, barely giving him enough time to block. Similar to last time, sparks flew, but this time, her sword gave off a white powdery substance that spread to his. He noticed this immediately, and quickly pushed her off before any more could get on.

But it didn't seem to matter. Even with her sword off, the powder kept going. He eventually had to drop the sword altogether, as it was creeping steadily closer to his hand, and he would not risk the chance of it effecting any else.

Which seemed to be the right thing to do.

"Oh, smarty~" Yuki no sang. "It _would_ have been pretty bad if the snow touched you." She then clapped her hands in mock applause. "I'm so happy you caught on! But…" and she positioned herself in another stance, "…now you can't block."

Toshiro quickly jumped, and just barely escaped the strike. The force of it broke the ground and dust arose beneath the female zanpakuto, but that didn't stop her. She quickly shot out from the smokescreen cover towards the captain.

He thought fast. "Bakudo Number 39, _Enkosen_!"

The yellow barrier was up just as Yuki no swung her blade. As it made contact, the shield broke, and Toshiro raised his hand up to the shocked woman's face.

"Hado Number 1, _Sho_!"

The kido knocked her away, with an audible, "_Gah!_" escaping from her lips. She flew back, but still managed to land on her feet. Immediately after regaining a good enough footing, she swung her blade towards the captain.

White, snowy images in the shape of small dragons rushed and flew towards Toshiro. He jumped, Shunpoed, ran; anything so that the beings wouldn't catch him. But it was to no avail, as they continually followed him, and were slowing catching up.

"D'aw, look at you!" Yuki no shouted as she went on making more snowy creatures gleefully. "You're like an adorable little flea! You just boing, boing, boing all over the place!"

Toshiro turned around, and shot off multiple _Shakkaho _at the pursuing dragons. It hadn't seemed to do any good, as when one was destroyed, more came to replace it. Toshiro grunted, aggravated at the results.

'_Damn it, there has to be some way to-'_

But his thoughts were soon interrupted.

"Hello~" He heard Yuki no's voice come from in front of him, and as he turned his head to see, she quickly struck him hard with the flat of her blade. With shock, he was tossed easily and harshly tossed to the ground. The snowy creatures had soon caught up to their now unmoving target, and were about to strike…

…when suddenly they melted. The result of which had Toshiro drenched in cold water.

With several long strings of curses and other irritable noises coming from him, he got up and spread out his arms to see that he well and truly covered head to toe with the wet substance, with water dripping off his clothes and hair.

"Ugh."

"Should've been more _caaaare_ful~" was Yuki no response to her owner's anger.

He simply glared at her.

"_**Don't look so mad, Master," **_Hyorinmaru said, hoping to at least calm the captain down, _**"at least now you have an idea about what you are up against."**_

"I bet you underestimated me, huh?" and she flicked Toshiro's nose, which only made him madder. "Now you have learned a lesson!"

Mad as he was, he had to agree. He hadn't expected so much so fast from the female spirit, and it had cost him. He sighed, saying, "I suppose so."

"Let's keep going!" Yuki no shouted, clearly happy with her victory. "Again, again!"

"No." Toshiro said firmly. Even if she hadn't noticed, he had; the time flew by as they trained, and it was nearing morning. He had to get back, and fast.

So, with a slightly saddened zanpakuto in tow, the three returned to his inner world, and he went off to go back to, first and foremost, pick back up the dropped zanpakuto, the white powder off. Afterwards, he checked the ice wall to see if it had indeed worked. To his relief, it had managed to catch the few stray spells that had gone in the direction, evidenced by the areas in which the ice was slightly melted. He took the whole thing down, its purpose done, and went off to the Seireitei, hoping the water would dry up along the way.

That last sentiment gained a chuckle from the female dragoness.

*Ass. She's going to kick his ass.

So! That goes chapter five! :D Hope it isn't too different from the others! (It's shorter :c)

(And yeah, looky here, Kusaka laka has made an appearance! Or at least was mentioned. ^^; I like him, and would like to consider him an actually part of Toshiro's past, even if technically he isn't :p)

Do any of you think I should change the title? I dunno, maybe something more to do with what's happening, or something to the effect. I can think of nothing ;w;

Happy (Almost or Around) Veteran's Day!

~Winter Lover in the Snow~


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